Hyena in Mississippi?

A certain Tim McCary shared a game cam video with Loren Coleman which can be viewed at
Cryptomundo.com.

Tim McCary of Mississippi has exclusively shared the following video with Cryptomundo. The creature caught with his game video cam was
photographed last fall 2007, in southwest Mississippi. Specifically, it was taken in a place called “Anna’s Bottom,” just north of Natchez,
Mississippi.

I've seen a lot of hyenas in my life, and this animal has a striking resemblance to a male hyena. So why can't it be a hyena? Err... Technically
speaking there shouldn't be any hyenas running wild anywhere in Northern America. Sure it can be an "escaped pet" (how many people do you
know with hyenas for pets?). Perhaps some sort of regular dog?

Interesting nonetheless. We can only hope that we hear more about this, and that it doesn't disappear into the abyss of more unsolved mysteries.

My girlfriend voted hyena at once, and she's seen quite a few of them in Africa.. Personally I can see that it walks like a hyena and has traits that
make it seem a hyena, but it looks quite non-robust to me? Its mange is quite small IMO, and its back is a bit low.

Im also not sure on the length of the legs - The front legs look just as long as the hindlegs, which is obviously not right. But agian, could be the
pixelated footage...

And since it is Mississipi, I would expect it to be a canine of some sort.

That was my verdict.. Gotta love these kinds of footages!

Edit: Nah, its walk is not that of a hyena either.. Definately canine!

Many trial cams are set to "wait" a second or two before they start filming for the animal to come into the centre of the frame first. (My guess in
this case.) Also most game cams are for the slower animals amongst us (

), whereas this guy needs to be somewhere in a hurry...

I have to agree that this animal is a bit on the "skinny side" (or non-robust as you say), especially the legs are exceptionally thin (compared to a
regular healthy hyena).

IMO the walk is close enough to a hyena... It could however be just a canine with a (hip) injury...?

That's weird. I was driving the highway between McMomb and Natchez one nite in Feb 08. I looked over and there was something that had skinny legs
like a deer but broad shoulders and a head like dog. But it's face wasn't a dogs face, it was fierce and ugly. It was fast, came out of no where
and ran along with my car for a few seconds.

I'm from Florida. Just work that area four times a year. That thing left an impression on me. I don't believe in anything. Ghosts, aliens, God.
But I'll never forget how that creature made me feel.

Okay. I'm usually a skeptic to oddball claims. Buuuut... I've been looking at hyenas for years now (favorite animal, yay!) and... Well... I'd have
to say that yes, that creature is indeed a spotted hyena. There's not very many animals with htat sort of build.

Very interesting! A zoo escapee is unlikely - zoo escapes are usually well-documented and recaptured in short order. However it could be someone's
released pet.

It's a wild dog. We have a few packs that roam the mountains. They killed one of our smaller dogs years back.

Wild dogs don't look like domesticated animals, they get much leaner and nastier. This specimen in the video looks to have a huge neck which is more
about his breed than his species. The short tail also looks like a Hyena but many dogs carry the same trait.

But I still don't believe it to be a hyena, due to the way it walks and its posture in general:

Notice how the back of our mystery creature is pointy, while the hyenas have a straight back, even when their head is tilted down. The mystery
creature has a back that points upward in the middle of the back.

Look at how the creature walks too, it has a kind of 'jumping' way of walking, just like small dogs.

When a hyena's tail is carried straight, for example, it signals attack. When it is held up and forward over the back, the hyena is extremely
excited. In contrast, it hangs down when the hyena is standing or walking leisurely. If frightened, the hyena tucks its tail between the legs and flat
against the belly and usually skulks away.

You see how a casual hyena has its tail between its legs. The creature in our footage is definately not hunting, but just 'walking along' - Ie. its
also casual.

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